Television Review: Bosch (Season 2, 2016)

Hyeronimus “Harry” Bosch (Titus Welliver), a Los Angeles police detective, successfully solved a difficult case of serial murders, but several months later was suspended due to a physical altercation with one of his supposed suspects. His triumphant return to the office and among colleagues who value his investigative talent comes at the right moment, given that a body of a porn producer has been found in a car boot. Bosch and his partner J. Edgar (Jamie Hector) quickly deduce it is not a random robbery, but a professionally executed hit, whose motives could be linked to money laundering for the benefit of Armenian and Russian mafia groups. Bosch’s trail leads him to Las Vegas, where he also gets the chance to reunite with his ex-wife Eleanor (Sarah Clarke) and his 15-year-old daughter Maddie (Madison Lintz). Meanwhile, Irvin Irving (Lance Reddick), the deputy police chief, becomes involved in the mayoral campaign of an ambitious district attorney, while discreetly monitoring his own son George (Robbie Jones). The younger George, a rookie in the drugs unit, has joined forces with his friend and colleague Eddie Arceneaux (James Ransone) to conduct a clandestine investigation into police corruption. Circumstances reveal that both cases are interconnected, but Bosch must also confront new evidence that could finally shed light on the unresolved murder of his mother after nearly four decades.

Bosch, the first flagship show with which Amazon threw down the gauntlet at Netflix as a new player in the streaming original content market, is not something the Jeff Bezos-owned company should be overly proud of, nor is it something to be ashamed of. What could be said about its first season largely applies to the second. Creator Eric Overmyer, who honed his craft as part of the The Wire creative team (and still shares some of that show’s cast), had no reason to reinvent the wheel. The show retains its “limited” season format of 10 episodes, blending material from several Michael Connelly novels to avoid plot sprawl. The narrative unfolds in a realistic manner, including its most spectacular scene—a brief shootout on the street—shown several episodes before the finale, while Bosch and his colleagues are left, much like in real life, to spend far more time dealing with its aftermath.

What distinguishes the second season from the first is that Bosch’s character is now more established, and there is less need to emphasise his tendency to, like Dirty Harry, violently assert his own brand of justice by trampling departmental rules and laws. There are also fewer irritating clichés in the form of serial killers who take their relationship with the investigating officer too personally. Instead, we have several vivid, yet realistic characters portrayed by a diverse, though somewhat accommodating, ensemble cast. Character actor Brent Sexton, as bodyguard and ex-cop Carl Nash, keeps viewers guessing whether he is a well-meaning man or a sly manipulator, while Matthew Lillard continues to enjoy himself in the role of a slick, arrogant strip club owner. However, the standout performance is Jeri Ryan (famous as Seven of Nine from Star Trek: Voyager), playing the ex-stripper and widow of the porn producer. She embodies a classic film noir femme fatale, yet the script ensures her character remains grounded in reality by the series’ end. Thanks to this, and above all its quality production, the second season of Bosch stands out in the late 2010s TV landscape, where audiences were lured like children in a sweetshop. It is a confection that may not be the sweetest, but it also won’t stick in your throat.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

(Note: The text in the original Croatian version is available here.)

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